A boxing judge is responsible for judging the results of a

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

match, with as many as three judges typically present at ringside to score the bout and assign points to the boxers, based on punches that connect, defense, knockdowns, and other, more subjective, measures. At the Olympic or World championship level, there are usually five judges. A boxing match that has not ended in a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(TKO) or disqualification (DQ), having reached the limit on the preset number of rounds has "gone the distance" and the fighter with the higher score at the end of the fight is ruled the winner. With three judges, unanimous decisions and

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split de ...

s are possible, as are draws. Because of the open-ended style of boxing judging, fights may end with controversial results, in which one of the fighters may believe they have been "robbed" or unfairly denied a victory. A draw will result if all three judges call the fight even or if one judge favors one fighter, a second judge's card supports the other and the third calls the fight a draw. The March 1999 heavyweight unification bout between

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the o ...

and

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hol ...

at Madison Square Garden is an example of a draw where all three judges had scored the fight differently, with Eugenia Williams favoring Holyfield, Stanley Christodoulou favoring Lewis and Larry O'Connell calling the fight a draw. The result led to calls for an immediate rematch between the two fighters. The extremely rare majority draw results when two out of the three judges call the fight even, which means the fight will be called a draw regardless if the third judge favors one fighter. There are some scoring systems used in boxing that make it impossible for a judge to award equal points for a match. If a championship bout ends in a draw, the champion usually retains the title. Boxing had always traditionally been a sport for males, with men performing the officiating. The first female boxing judge,

Carol Polis Carol B. Polis (born May 23, 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American writer, stockbroker and former professional boxing judge. From 1973 to 2009, she judged 143 professional boxing contests, including many world championships. Polis is ...

, was appointed in 1973.Kent, Bill
"ATLANTIC CITY; Ladies' Night, 1998"
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The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 1, 1998. Accessed August 1, 2010. Eva Shain, appointed as a judge a year after Polis by the New York State Athletic Commission, became the first woman to judge a heavyweight title fight, when she was one of three judges officiating as

Earnie Shavers Earnie Dee Shaver (August 31, 1944 – September 1, 2022), best known as Earnie Shavers, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1969 and 1995. A two-time world heavyweight championship challenger, he is known as one of the hard ...

fought

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

on September 29, 1977.Goldstein, Richard
"Eva Shain, 81, a Pioneering Boxing Judge"
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'', August 23, 1999. Accessed August 1, 2010.

References

{{Reflist * Boxing terminology